Capodastro for banjos or guitars



(No Model.)

R. GILL & F. A. KILBER. GAPODASTRO FOR BANJOS OR GUITARS.

No. 416.057. Patented Nov. 26, 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAY GILL AND FRANK A. KILBER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

CAPODASTRO FOR BANJOS OR GUITARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 416,057, dated November 26, 1889.

Application filed June 2'7, 1889. Serial No. 315,742. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RAY GILL and FRANK A. KILBER, both of the city of St. Louis, in the and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention is a peculiarly-constructed capodastro for attachment to the neck or fretboard of a banjo, guitar, or other like musical instrument, to adjust the pitch of tone to that of the accompanying instruments in the orchestra; and the invention consists in features of novelty hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Figure I is a perspective detail view of the neck of a banjo, and shows the capodastro adjusted and clamped to the seventh fret and the fifth string resting in the groove of the nut or rest of the adjustable extension-bar at the twelfth fret. Fig. II is a transverse section of same immediately adjacent to the location of the capodastro, which is also shown, as is the swinging bail-clamp that secures it to the fret-board or neck of the banjo. Fig. III is a vertical section, taken on line III III, Fig. II, and shows the combined swivel and set-screw attachment of the adjustable extension-bar that carries the fifth string; and Fig. IV is an inverted view of the main or attachment plate and nut or string-rest of the capoda'stro, and shows'fithe grooves through which the strings run'beneath the plate.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the neck of 'a banjo to which our capodastro 2 is attached.

3 is the fret-board on the playing-surface of said neck, and 4 are the frets, which may be raised or otherwise made and run transversely of said fret-board, to denote the graduated scale of the intonation of the strings 5 and the locations of attachment of the capodastro to bring-the tone of the instrument into tune with the other instruments of the orchestra or of those of quartettes, duets, &c., in association with which the performer may be at the time playing.

6 represents the attachment-plate of the capodastro 2, integral with which and located in front thereof is the forked attachment-nut or string-rest 7, between which and the attachment-plate is the aperture 8. Both the attachment-plate and the nut or string-rest are seated on the fret-board, resting thereon at either of the frets immediately behind the same, being adjustable from one part of the fret-board to another to adjust the tone of the instrument in harmony with others with which it is played.

9 represents a stud that surmounts the center of the attachment-plate, with which the socket-nozzle 10 of the upper arm 11 of the sectional swinging bail-clamp 12 engages when the capodastro is secured to the fretboard of the neck of the banjo by said swinging bail-clamp. The socket-sleeve 13 of the upper arm or section of said clamp telescopes on the upturned end of the lower arm or sec tion 14 of said sectional clamp, and an in: ternally-threaded set-screw 15 engages on the screw-threaded end 16 of said arm 14 to tighten the clamp. A pivot-stud 17 rises from said lower arm and engages in its free bearing-seat 18 within the attachmentbraoket 19, the rubber or other soft frictional-hold cushion 20, on which securely grasps the lower side of the neck of the banjo when the said sectional attachment-clamp is tightened. The sectional attachment-clamp, it will be seen, is pivotally adjustable, being made to swing on the pivot 9 and on or by its own pivot 17, so as to be readily swung around out of the way of the fingers of the musician. While we have shown and described and prefer to use the said swinging sectional attachment-clamp, yet we do not confine ourselves to its use for the attachment of the capodastro, for a rubber or other elastic band 21, as shown in broken lines in Fig. II, may be used for said attachment, in which case the said elastic band will be looped over the horns 22 and 23, that surmount said capodastro, the band being passed under the neck of the banjo, thus holding said capodastro to its adjusted position.

2a represents the grooves in the under side of the main attachment-plate for the passage of the strings, and 25 are the grooves in nut or rest 7 in which the strings are seated, and constituting as they do turn-rests, in conjunc tion with the grooves in the attachment-plate,

said grooves provide inverted tension-rests for seating the strings on a lower level than the upwardly-faced grooves 25. T he said strings, after leaving said tension-rests, are passed back to and around the usual key-pegs that are seated in perforations in the head of the banjo by which they are held, and their tension adjusted for tuning said strings.

26 represents a surmounting swivel-bearer plate, which is preferably brazed, but may be riveted onto the main attachment-plate, and which is itself surmounted by a hollow collar 27, that is preferably loose on said swivelbearer plate.

28 represents a swivel-stud, the swell or base flange 29 of which works Within the peripheral enlargement 30 of the swivel-chamber 31. A perforation 32, that passes through the swivel-stud immediately above the collar 27, provides the adjustable seat for the extension-bar 33, that carries the elevated nut or rest 34, in the recessed groove 35 of which the fifth string is seated, the elevated tension-rest of said "extension-bar being preferably located five frets ahead of the location of the main body of the capodastro. or rest 7 on the capodastro has four grooves for the other four strings. The extensionbar is provided with a laterally-projecting loop 36, adjacent to and back of the rest 34, p

in the under side of which is formed a groove 37, through which the fifth string is passed at a lower level than said rest to provide a tension-hold for said string, -which string passes back and through its respective grooves 24: in the under side of the main attachmentplate of the capodastro, and from that passes over the elevated nut or rest 38 in the recessed groove 39, in the top of which it is seated, and laterally passes to and around the usual key-peg, by which it is held and its tension adjusted for tuning said string.

40 represents a set-screw, which is seated and works in the screw-threaded socket 41 in the top of the swivel-stud 28, so as to tighten the adjusted tension-bar in its swivel-seat to lock it to its longitudinal adjustment, and at the same time lock the swivel itself in its swivel-chamber to rigidlyhold the said extension-bar in longitudinal line with the fretboard of the banjo while the instrument is operated.

The eXtension-baris for providing the tension-rest for the fifth string preferably five frets ahead, or higher than those of the other strings. Thus, as shown, the tension-rests of the first, second, third, and fourth strings in the immediate vicinity of the attachmentplate are at the seventh fret, while that of the fifth string, which has its tension-rest on the extension-rod, is five frets higher, or, in other words,'on the twelfth fret. seen that as the frets more nearly approximate each other in ascending the scale, therefore, as the capodastro is adjusted from one fret to another, the respective length in advance of said extension-bar requires to be The nut v Now, it will be readjusted, which is readily accomplished by loosening the set-screw that holds it, passing the bar along its perforate seat in the swivel, and then retightening the set-screw.

In the attachment of the device, after the banjo, guitar, or other like instrument has been strung, but the capodastro not yet attached, the performer inserts the nut or restbar on which the strings ride under said strings, the attachment-plate being tilted up over said stringsto facilitate the insertion of said rest-bar. The attachment-plate is then turned down over the strings, exerting a friction-clamp tension thereon, as shown in Fig.

I, the said capodastro being adjusted to either of the frets desired to be in tone or unison with other instruments with which it is played. The sectional swinging bail-clamp 12 is then placed in position by seating the socket-nozzle 10 on the stud 9, that surmounts the attachment-plate of the capodastro, and bringing the frictional cushion of the attachmentbracket 19 '(in which bracket works freely the pivot-stud 1.7) into a clutch-hold of the lower side of the neck of the banjo. The telescopic sleeve 13 of the upper arm of the clamp is then slipped down on the coupling-screw 16, which surmounts the lower arm, and the setscrew 15 is turned down until the clamp securely locks the capodastro to the fret-board of the banjo in its adjusted position.

The capodastro is adjustable to either of the frets, and the various instruments that are to be played together are thus quickly tuned to be in unison with each other.

In the ordinary banjo or guitar it is often found to be impossible to bring all the strings in harmonious unison with those of other instruments with which it is played, because certain of the strings will not sustain the increased tension in tuning without breaking; but with our invention the strings need not be strained to any such extreme stress, for

where there is danger of breakage of strings v in such cases the capodastro can then be adjusted and applied to the required fret to obtain the necessary pitch without increasing the tension beyond the capacity of the strings.

The capodastro can be placed and used on any banjo, guitar, or similar instrument, and can be placed at any fret, regardless as to whether said frets are raised or not.

The grooved seats for the strings on top of the nut or bar 7 and under the attachmentplate are made sufficiently roomy to allow the strings to be tuned without removing the capodastro; also, when it is desired to readjust the position of the capodastro, by simply loosening the clamping-bail the said capodastro can be slid along the fretboard from one fret to another without removal from the instrument, so as to quickly adjust it to the tone required. In case of a broken string a new one can be readily threaded through said grooves in the capodastro without its removal from the fret-board of the instrument.

It will be seen that not only is the swinging bail-clamp by the one section telescoping within the other made convenient for attachment and clamping adjustment, but also its pivotal bail construction enables the performer to easily swing it out of the way of his left hand as his fingers move from fret to fret.

We claim as our invention- 1. The combination of the attachment-plate 6, the grooved nut or string-rest 7, that has a forked attachment to said attachment-plate, the strings arranged to ride over said rest-bar and under said attachment-plate to exert tension on said strings, and means for securing said attachment-plate to a fret-board, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of the attachment-plate 6, provided with grooves on its under side, the string-rest bar 7, having a forked attachment to said plate 6, forming the aperture 8 between said plate and said bar, and provided with grooves on the upper side, in which and in the grooves under the plate 6 the strings have their tension-seats, the stud 9 on top of plate 6, and the sectional swinging bailclamp 12, the socket-nozzle 10 of which engages on said stud, and which sectional hanger-bail is arranged to fasten the attachment-plate to a fret-board, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the attachment-plate provided with grooves beneath it for the passage of the strings, the string-rest bar 7, having a forked connection with said plate, and said bar being provided with grooves on its face, which, with those in the bottom of the plate on a diverse level, provide tensionseats for the strings, the sectional hanger 12, by which said plate and bar are secured to the fret-board of an instrument, the swivelstud 28, that works in the swivel-chamber 31, the extension-bar 33, that is adj ustably seated in said swivel-stud, and the elevated rest 3% on said extension-bar in the recessed groove in which the fifth string is carried, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of the attachmentplate and string-rest bar that forks from and is integral with said plate, there being provided an aperture between said plate and bar, except at the junction at one end, the said plate being provided with grooves beneath and said bar with grooves above, in which the strings are held in tension, the swivel-bearer plate 26, surmounted by the hollow collar 27, within which is located a swivel-chamber having a peripheral enlargement at the base of said chamber, the swivel-stud 28, having a basefiange 29, the adjustable eXtension-barhaving a raised rest 34, provided with a recessed seat for the fifth string, and the laterally-projecting loop 36 on said extension-bar, the said loop being provided with a groove beneath for the seating of the string on a lower level to that of the raised rest to exert a tension-hold of the string, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination of the attachment-pl ate, the rest-bar for the strings, which ride over said bar and under said plate, the rest-bar and attachment-plate being so arranged as to exert a tension on said strings, the extensionbar 33, the raised nut or rest for the fifth string said bar carries, the said extension-bar having a lateral loop provided with a groove in which said string has a depressed seat providing a tension-hold thereof, the swivelstud 28, that adjustably carries said extension-bar, the. said swivel-stud having a peripheral base-flange that swivels within the peripheral enlargement of the SWlV61-Ch2t11lher, and the set-screw 40, that locks the adjustment of the extension-bar and of the swivel that carries said bar, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination of the attachment-plate, the pivot-stud that surinounts the attachmentplate, the sectional sliding bail-clamp that secures said attachment-plate to the fret-work of the instrument, the said swinging bailclamp being constructed with a socket-collar that clutches in said pivot-stud, an upper and lower arm, one telescoping within the other, the pivot-stud 17 on the lower arm, and a set-screw that tightens the telescopic connection of the arms to fasten the attachment-plate to an instrument, the bracketclutch 19, in which the pivot-stud 17 engages, and the frictional-hold cushion 20 on said bracket-clutch, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

RAY GILL. FRANK A. KILBER. In presence of BENJN. A. KNIGHT, SAML. KNIGHT.

ICO 

